Two recent academic papers have uncovered that the US cow meat industry, through the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), knew about the significant climate harms of cow meat production as far back as 1989, yet took calculated steps to keep the public uninformed. University of Miami Professor Jennifer Jacquet and her research colleagues argue that the NCBA “worked to obfuscate the science” regarding cow meat’s role in the climate crisis, using tactics which mirror those historically deployed by the tobacco industry to cast doubt on established science.
The papers are titled “Early US meat industry knowledge and response to global warming” and “The animal agriculture industry’s obstruction of campaigns promoting individual climate action,” published in February and April 2025, respectively.
Jacquet said to Sentient Media, “Meat and dairy does not want the individual or the consumer to think they have any power, or to think that their choices make a difference at all…They’re constantly saying what you do as a consumer will not make a difference. ‘Eating less meat and dairy will not make a difference.’” Despite such rhetoric, respected non-partisan organisations such as the World Resource Institute and EAT-Lancet have demonstrated that reducing animal-based food consumption is vital for addressing anthropogenic climate disruption.
Commenting on these new revelations, climate historian Naomi Oreskes said, “There is a long, well-documented history of industry attempts to downplay, discredit and even outright deny science that demonstrates the harms of its activities and products. This strategy was honed to a fine art by the tobacco industry; the beef industry now appears to be following the tobacco model.”
Archival research by Jacquet unearthed a 1989 NCBA strategic plan that acknowledged the threat of global warming to the industry. The plan advised taking “a leadership role in positively influencing legislation and regulations”, targeting influencers such as media and educators, and monitoring “vegetarian messaging”. During the 1990s, campaigns such as the Beyond Beef Coalition sought to encourage people to halve their cow’s flesh intake, but the meat sector responded forcefully, including efforts to prevent media coverage of books advocating plant-based eating. According to Jacquet, “They emphasised that individuals would not make a difference, and they also obstructed the sort of public understanding of the role of cows and climate change significantly.” The long-running narrative, reinforced by industry funding for supportive research and communications strategies, has shifted public perception — to the extent that a 2023 poll found 74% of US adults believe that not eating animal flesh would have little or no impact on climate change.
